Flush valve construction



Dec. 8, 1959 R. R. BUTTS FLUSH VALVE CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. is, 1956 INVENTOR. fackara K 1941/70,

HTTORNEYS United States Patent FLUSH VALVE CONSTRUCTION Richard Raymond Butts, Saginaw, Mich. Application September 18,1956, Serial No. 610,470 8 Claims. or. 251- 40 This invention relates to valves and more particularly to flush valves for plumbing fixtures, and the prime object' of the instant invention is to design a new and improved flush valve which is of simple design, effective in operation, and composed of a minimum number of parts.

One object of the invention is todesign a new and improved flush valve formed with upper and lower chambers with means for equalizing or balancing the valve diaphragm when the valve is in its closed position.

A further object is to design a flush valve in which the valve diaphragm is provided with a bypass opening. into the diaphragm, for admission of a limited volume of liquid to gradually fill the upper chamber of the diaphragmand equalize the pressure each time the valve is flushed.

Still a further objectis to design a simple, practical, and inexpensive flush valve structure, composed of few parts, all of sturdy construction, which can be readily manufactured and assembled, and which readily lend themselves to mass production with the consequent saving s resulting therefrom.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and more particularly pointedout in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportion, andminor details of construction, without departing from the spirit, or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional side elevational view of my' improved flush valve.

Fig. 2 isa top plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the members forming the bypass into the valve.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the barrel of the valve.

The valve illustrated in the accompanying drawing is a flush valve of the general design that is manually actuated for the discharge of a predetermined volume of liquid, followed by automatic closing, and is readily adjustable to deliver a predetermined adjusted volume from a constant pressure source at each discharge or operation.

Referring now more specifically to the drawing, in which I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention: the numeral 5 indicates the valve body which is substantially cylindrical in shape, the upper end terminating in a vertical rim section 6, internally shouldered and grooved as at 7, with the upper end of the rim internally threaded as at 8 to threadedly accommodate the shouldered end 9 of a cap 10 which is formed with a horizontally disposed flange 11 overlying the upper end of the rim 6, thence the cap tapers upwardly, terminating in a hex shaped head 12, centrally bored and threaded as at 13 to accommodate an adjusting screw 15, with a cap screw 14 provided thereabove.

2,916,251 Patented Dec. 8, 9

A threaded passage 16 opens into the side wall of the main body 5, and a water intake pipe 17 is threaded thereinto as usual.

The lower end of the valve body terminates in a re: duced cylindrical section 18, externally'threaded as at 19 for connection of a discharge pipe (not shown) in the usual manner,

A laterally projecting boss 20 is formed integral with the body 5 and a passage 21 extends therethrough and opens into the valve body, and a handle H is mounted therein and in a manner to be presently described.

The main cylindrical portion of the valve body is formed with a centrally disposed barrel section 22, internally shouldered and threaded at its upper end, and a cylindrical valve seat 23 is threaded thereon and forms an extension thereof, the upper end of the seat being tapered on the outer edge as at 24 and a bored guide gland 25' is mounted in the barrel and extends upwardly through the seat, the upper end being internally threaded as at 26 to accommodate the lower threaded end of a gland nut 27, the upper end of said gland nut being formed with a shouldered enlargement 28, and the upper end of the bore is flared as at 29, and for a purpose to be presently described.

A resilient diaphragm D is mounted in the cap section of the valve structure and is formed in two sections, 30 and 31 respectively, the section 30 closely fitting the tapered section of the cap and having a thickened section 32 disposed directly beneath the adjusting screw 14.

The lower face of the section is flanged as at 33 and is formed with a Wedge shaped rib 34 engageable in a mating groove 35 provided in the lower section 31 A centrallydisposed orifice 36 is formed in the section 31, and the body of the gland nut 27 extends there through. A metallic member 37, T-sha'ped in cross section, is moulded in the section 31 and snugly engages the hollow gland nut 27 at a point directly below the shoulder 28, said member 37 being interposed between the upper ends of the gland valve 23, the valve seat 25, and the shouldered end 28 ofthe gland nut 27 to form leakproof joint thereat;

A pop or relief'valve 38 is mounted in the hollow'glarid nut 27 and is formed with a socket 39 in which a sleeve 40 is mounted, a sleeve pin 41 being mounted in sai'd sleeve and projects downwardly into the path of mavement of the actuating handle H and in a manner to be" hereinafter described.

The outer edge of the head of the pop valve 38 is downwardly turned as at 42, with the rim bearing on thewall of the resilient diaphragm 31 to form an air and water tight joint thereat.

Anorifi'ce or by-p'ass O is provided in the diaphragmsectio1'r31 and comprises a hollow bolt 43 provided" with a screen 44 over one endthereof. This bolt is inserted through the orifice in the diaphragm and a washer and nut .45' and 46respectively serveto secure the bolt in p'os'ition. This permits a small stream of liquid to" new through orifice 0 into the chamber C until the pressure in chamber- C is equalized with the pressure in chamb'enl-E.

The handle unit H is formed with an'enlarged' spherical section 47 having an enlargement 48 which is mounted in a nut 49 threaded on the end of boss 20;

A control pin 56 is slidably mounted in the passage 21 and' projects into the valve body at a point directly ad jacent the sleeve pin 41.

A recess 51 is formed in the one end of the bore 21 and a spring 52 is interposed between the recess 51 and the enlargement 48 of the spherical member 47, and it will be seen that by swinging handle H, the control pin 50 will be forced inwardly and engage the lower end of pin 41 totilt the pop or relief valve, the flared end 29 permitting such tilting movement. This releases the pressure in the:

chamber C, so that the diaphragm is forced upwardly permitting water in the chamber to flow into barrel section 22 and thence to outlet 53 as usual. During the interval the valve is in operation water flows through bypass or orifice into the upper chamber C, gradually filling said chamber and equalizing the pressure again. As the upper chamber gradually fills, the diaphragm 31 returnsto' its seat to close the valve.

The volume of water or flush may be varied by adjustment of the adjusting screw 15, turning in restricts movement of the diaphragm and minimizes the volume of water flushed.

The valve seat 23 is readily removable and can be easily replaced when worn and the guide gland 25 is held against the diaphragm 31 by the gland nut 27 so that no gasket or packing is required to keep it from leaking. A washer 54 is inserted in a recess 55 provided in the cap, and protects the diaphragm from wear of the adjusting screw, and when the screw 14 is removed, the operator turns the screw 15 to force the washer 54 downwardly, and it will be clearly obvious that the volume of the diaphragm will be varied accordingly. A vent V is provided in the side wall of cap 12 as usual.

The operation of the valve is as follows: when the water, from inlet 17 which leads to a main (not shown), or other pressurized source of supply, enters chamber E, water from chamber E bypasses through small orifice 0 into chamber C, until the pressures in chambers E and C are equalized, then when handle 'H is actuated, control pin 50 engages and tilts pin 41 and pop valve 38, releasing the pressure in chamber C, and pressure in chamber E then forces diaphragm section 31 upwardly so that water in said chamber flows through the barrel section 22 to drain.

When chamber C is emptied water from chamber E flows through orifice 0 until pressure in the chambers E and C is again equalized preparatory to the next flushing operation.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have perfected a very simple, practical and inexpensive flush valve for use in connection with plumbing fixtures and the like.

What I claim is:

1. A flush valve of the class described comprising, an open ended cylindrical casing formed with a concentrically arranged barrel section, having a seat formed therein, a hollow, cap section releasably secured to an open end of the casing and forming a closure for same, a sectional, flexible, two part hollow diaphragm having one section extending into said cap, and the other engaging said seat and having a central orifice concentric with said seat and a restricted by-pass therethrough, a gland nut on said diaphragm section and extending through said seat engaging diaphragm orifice, said diaphragm forming a chamber and dividing the casing and cap into upper and lower chambers, means for varying the volume of said diaphragm chamber, a release valve projecting through said gland nut and formed with a head yieldingly engageable with the inner face of the diaphragm about said central orifice, and means for tilting said release valve to release the pressure in said upper chamber.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 in which one section of the diaphragm is formed with a thick upper wall section, and said means for varying the volume of said diaphragm chamber comprising manually adjustable means engageable with said upper wall section.

3. A flush valve of the class described comprising, an open ended hollow, cylindrical casing, formed with a concentrically arranged upright barrel section, providing a seat, a hollow cap releasibly secured to an open end of the casing and forming a closure for same, a two-piece diaphragm, one piece having a central orifice concentric with said seat, said two-piece diaphragm being mounted on said casing, and extending into said cap and casing member respectively to form an upper chamber in said cap and a lower chamber surrounding said barrel section, said one piece co-operating with said seat to control flow therethrough, means for varying the volume of said diaphragm chamber, a gland nut mounted on said one piece and extending through said seat engaging diaphragm orifice, a release valve projecting through said gland nut and provided with an enlarged disc-shaped head, the marginal edge of which is downwardly turned to yieldingly engage the inner face of the diaphragm about said orifice, a water intake communicating with the lower chamber, a screened by-pass connecting the upper and lower chambers to equalize the pressure therebetween, and means for actuating said release valve.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 which includes a shoulder on said gland nut, with the circumferential edge of the diaphragm orifice interposed between said valve seat and the shouldered section of said gland nut.

5. The combination defined in claim 3 in which the means for varying the volume of said diaphragm chamber comprises manually adjustable means on said cap, and a vent in said cap open to atmosphere.

6. The combination defined in claim 3 in which the gland nut is hollow and flared, and a ventilated guide gland is releasably secured to said gland nut.

7. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which the connecting edges of the diaphragm pieces are shaped to drical casing, having a concentrically arranged barrel section formed integral therewith, a discharge opening in said casing, a hollow cap releasably secured to an open end of the casing, a two-piece, resilient diaphragm, having a central orifice in one piece, mounted in said casing and extending into said cap to form an upper chamber in said cap, and a lower chamber in said casing, a valve seat mounted on said barrel section concentric with said orifice, a gland nut extending through said diaphragm orifice, a guide gland mounted in said barrel and valve seat respectively and releasably connected to said gland nut, a release valve rockably mounted in said gland nut and provided with a downwardly turned rim engageable with the inner face of said diaphragm about said orifice, means for varying the volume of the upper chamber, a screened orifice in said one piece of the diaphragm, and a spring retracted, actuating handle mounted in said casing for engaging said release valve when the handle is actuated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,141,360 Rudd June 1, 1915 1,800,608 Dobrick Apr. 14, 1931 2,433,507 Delany Dec. 30, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 108,676 Germany Feb. 23, 1900 awn...- 

